‘Yonkers’ not lost, though the plot wanders

As a freshman, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I went to see Theatre Intime’s new production of “Lost in Yonkers” by Neil Simon. Of course, certain things are usually expected of all plays: The dramatic action must be an inevitable struggle between two irresistible, incompatible forces. The struggle in this case was between the grown-ups and those growing up in a family, and it was manifest in the characters of Bella, a 35-year-old woman-child, and her steel-fisted German mother.

Though the play often focuses on grandkids Jay and Artie, the most memorable, intense scenes revolve around the attempts of their aunt Bella to transcend her mother’s dominance. Taylor Mallory ’13 turns in a fascinating performance as Bella and is unquestionably the star of the show, drawing my attention almost exclusively to her whenever she walked onstage.

On the other hand, Grandma Kurnitz’s character can be fully grasped even before her entrance, as her labored footsteps forebode her stern, yet somewhat stereotypical character. It struck me that every character in the play cowered in fear of her, but they all also do an impression of her. This caricature is an effective antagonist, and Carolyn Vasko ’13, possessing the appropriate star power, effectively communicates Grandma’s obstinate need to be respected. However, the fact that Grandma feels no emotion leads to both a fairly flat-faced performance and the audience’s inability to connect with this inhuman character.

This brings up what I believe to be the most significant weakness of the play (and here I don’t mean the actors’ performances, but the play itself): In many ways, it seemed simply irrelevant. Most of us don’t have grandmothers who resemble Otto von Bismarck, and most of us, by the very state of being in college, have learned to break away from our parents. A more radical directorial vision of Yonkers could have made the show relevant, perhaps by drawing parallels between World War II and the war on terrorism, or between Germans and Muslim terrorist groups, but none of these comparisons were insinuated, and nothing implied that the entire audience might leave the theater forced to think.

A few words on the other characters in this seven-person show: Jay, the elder brother and supposed protagonist, is played by Jordan Adelson ’14 with significant commitment and energy. However, it is telling that he claims to have “played this exact same role in ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs,’ ” indicating that there is not much new ground to be tread here for him.

This is not the case, however, with Jay’s brother Artie, played by Mark Watter ’14, who sinks perfectly into his character as the production progresses. Watter is both entertaining and endearing, and he almost single-handedly delivers the funniest moments of the play. Bella’s siblings Louie, Eddie and Gertrude (played by Matt Spencer Seely ’14, Dan Yawitz ’12, and Sarah Wiest ’14, respectively) weigh down the plot with stereotypical “gangster” accents, random outbursts of emotive performance and unnecessary breathing habits, respectively. Their presence seemed superfluous, almost an intrusion into the truly captivating story of Bella and Grandma.

At the end, I found that despite how quickly some lines had been spit, the play still ran too long, at two-and-a-half hours — and because the actors’ effort was often evident, it was also often an effort to watch. However, the violently truthful scenes between Bella and Grandma are definitely worth the ticket, and as a whole the play is a reasonably entertaining exercise in acting. Thankfully, the cast’s passion for theater was also evident, although I hope that in the future Theatre Intime channels its efforts into saying something more relevant — or, at least, more unexpected.

3 out of 5 paws